Q & A with Wayne Chism

Published: Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 8:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 8:49 p.m.

Q: Can you talk about the rivalry that Tennessee and Florida have developed in recent years?

A: Tennessee was beating Florida for a while. When coach (Bruce Pearl) first got here, it was one and one, then (the Vols) beat them twice. The rivalry has been back and forth since Iíve been here.

Q: Your team has played Georgetown, Memphis, Kansas, Marquette, Temple and Gonzaga twice. Does it help to have such a brutal non-conference schedule like that?

A: A tough non-conference schedule can be good. It can help you, especially with the road games in the SEC when you go to a hostile environment like Kansas and Temple, playing a game in there and trying to win. Itís very hard, but it helps the team out and gets them prepared for the road in the SEC.

Q: Over the past two games, Tennessee held Vanderbilt to 63 points, then held Memphis to 54. Before that, the Vols were giving up an average of 76.3 points per game. How has the team improved defensively?

A: Weíre picking up our defense. Thatís what weíve been focusing on and thatís what weíre going to keep on focusing on. It was just communication. Thatís as simple as I can get.

Q: Can you talk about Bruce Pearl as a coach?

A: Coach is a cool dude. Heís very aggressive in the game. Heís very intense so when heís intense, weíre intense and we try to play our best to keep him happy.

Q: Tyler Smith is averaging 17.2 points per game. Youíre the only other player on the team scoring in double-figures so far this season. Are you his right-hand man?

A: Thereís a lot of stuff we do to get Tyler open. Everybody on the team is his right-hand man so you canít single me as being his only person to give the ball up to, thereís Bobby (Maze), Scotty (Hopson) and Brian Williams coming off the bench. Thereís a lot of people helping Tyler out.

<p>Five questions with Tennessee junior forward Wayne Chism.</p><p>Q: Can you talk about the rivalry that Tennessee and Florida have developed in recent years? </p><p>A: Tennessee was beating Florida for a while. When coach (Bruce Pearl) first got here, it was one and one, then (the Vols) beat them twice. The rivalry has been back and forth since I’ve been here. </p><p>Q: Your team has played Georgetown, Memphis, Kansas, Marquette, Temple and Gonzaga twice. Does it help to have such a brutal non-conference schedule like that? </p><p>A: A tough non-conference schedule can be good. It can help you, especially with the road games in the SEC when you go to a hostile environment like Kansas and Temple, playing a game in there and trying to win. It’s very hard, but it helps the team out and gets them prepared for the road in the SEC. </p><p>Q: Over the past two games, Tennessee held Vanderbilt to 63 points, then held Memphis to 54. Before that, the Vols were giving up an average of 76.3 points per game. How has the team improved defensively? </p><p>A: We’re picking up our defense. That’s what we’ve been focusing on and that’s what we’re going to keep on focusing on. It was just communication. That’s as simple as I can get. </p><p>Q: Can you talk about Bruce Pearl as a coach? </p><p>A: Coach is a cool dude. He’s very aggressive in the game. He’s very intense so when he’s intense, we’re intense and we try to play our best to keep him happy. </p><p>Q: Tyler Smith is averaging 17.2 points per game. You’re the only other player on the team scoring in double-figures so far this season. Are you his right-hand man? </p><p>A: There’s a lot of stuff we do to get Tyler open. Everybody on the team is his right-hand man so you can’t single me as being his only person to give the ball up to, there’s Bobby (Maze), Scotty (Hopson) and Brian Williams coming off the bench. There’s a lot of people helping Tyler out.</p>